Coding sequence and exon/intron organization of the canine CLN3 (Batten disease) gene and its exclusion as the locus for ceroid-lipofuscinosis in English setter dogs.

Hereditary ceroid-lipofuscinosis in English setters has been proposed to be the canine equivalent of human juvenile ceroid-lipofuscinosis, which results from defects in the CLN3 gene. Analyses were performed to determine whether the disease in English setters is also the consequence of a CLN3 gene mutation. Canine CLN3 cDNA was found to contain a 1,314-bp open reading frame predicting a derived amino acid sequence which is 89%, 85%, and 84% identical to the predicted amino acid sequences for the human, mouse, and rabbit CLN3 proteins, respectively. The canine gene has sixteen exons. No differences were detected when cDNA nucleotide sequences from an English setter with ceroid-lipofuscinosis and from a normal dog were compared. Moreover, alleles of the canine CLN3 gene distinguished by an intragenic marker segregated independently from the disease in an English setter family, eliminating CLN3 as the locus for the canine disease. A ceroid-lipofuscinosis-affected Tibetan terrier was homozygous for a Gly70Glu CLN3 variant; however, this allele is common in dog breeds considered free of ceroid-lipofuscinosis.